Taiwan contributes US$9.4 million to Japan's Kumamoto earthquake recovery effort

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened a public donation account on Aug. 1, tasking the International Cooperation and Development Fund with its administration, and collected more than NT$300 million within a month. Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung handed the funds to Kazuyuki Katayama of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association in Taipei, emphasizing shared safety concerns as many Taiwanese work in Kumamoto through TSMC and its supply chain.

The July 28 magnitude-7.1 earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture claimed 38 lives and damaged nearly 43,000 homes, prompting the relief effort. In addition to the public fund, TSMC pledged ¥250 million (US$1.6 million) and President William Lai, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, and Premier Cho Jung-tai each donated NT$200,000 personally. Lin cited past mutual aid after disasters such as the 1999 Jiji quake and the 2011 Tohoku tsunami, and called for deeper bilateral cooperation on disaster prevention and reconstruction.